UK charity Turn2us has today warned that the proposed cuts to tax credits may plunge many of the most vulnerable in society into poverty. The announcement comes after the Chancellor outlined £9bn of cuts to the tax credits system, which will affect low income working families.
Simon Hopkins, Chief Executive of Turn2us commented: “Whilst we knew that tax credit reform was on the cards, the extent to which this lifeline will be reduced is striking. Tax credits are a significant source of income for many families in the UK, helping them …

If you work with a team spread across different locations, project management software can make a big difference in coordinating work seamlessly and ensuring good communication between team members. I was pleased to get the chance to review Wrike, a cloud-based software that helps teams collaborate and work smarter even when they’re geographically separated.
So, what does Wrike offer? Up to five users are free, which gets it off to a great start for any small business. There are also professional and enterprise plans which are paid but offer lots more functionality. …

Balancing work and family is a difficult task (anyone that has tried it knows what I’m talking about), but it can be done. One of the most important things to do is keep your work life and family life separate. You need an office. Your sanctuary of peace and even if the rest of your life is complete chaos, it’s important to keep your office tidy.
A tidy office is known to boost productivity. Keeping it tidy might be something that we all hate, but it’s so easy. Just five or …

HERA – a charity which gives women survivors of trafficking, conflict, and other forms of violence, control over their futures – has launched its first crowd funding campaign.
There are an estimated 35.8 million people enslaved in the world. Human trafficking creates approximately $150 billion in illegal revenue annually. Approximately 80% of victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation, with 19% trafficked for labour exploitation.
Survivors, faced with gaps in their resumes and education, encounter further discrimination in returning to the workforce or formal education. They risk being marginalised, forced to remain on social …

The SAGE flagship conference is running this week in New Orleans. Sage Summit is the world’s biggest conference dedicated to Small &Medium Businesses. And you can watch the live stream which starts today at 15.30 BST. The schedule for the live stream is available here: http://na.sage.com/sage-summit/videos (please note times listed on this page are local New Orleans (CT) time).
With over 70 speakers including Tony Hawk, Colin Powell, Jane Seymour, Deepak Chopra, and Chad Hurley, Sage Summit will bring together Sage’s customers, partners, and colleagues to learn and network, embrace future technologies, and …

East Anglia earns the most, daily rates growing fastest in the North East and Wales, while the East Midlands lags behind
The North East has emerged as a growth hotspot for one-person companies, with freelancers charging almost 50% more than in 2013, finds new research* from Crunch Accounting.
The research findings are based on the daily charge out rates of more than 4,700 one-person companies across the UK since 2013.
Other fast growing regions include Wales and the South West, where daily rates have increased by 31% and 28% respectively.
The area where …

It is a problem that every business faces at some time: it needs to grow but there isn’t more money or space available. Sure, when you have more stock, you can sell more items and grow your turnover, but you need to invest first. So, here are five ways to help you expand and grow your business even when your resources are limited.
Need more time? If you have a small team or are a one man band, lack of time can hold you back and stop your business growing. Think …

Up to 85% of disabled people find that their condition has an impact when job-hunting, according to new research from the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI). Furthermore, 56% of respondents said that they first faced barriers as early as the application stage of the recruitment process – and only 3% of those surveyed said that their disability did not impact their job hunt at all.
RIDI, in conjunction with Diversityjobs.co.uk and Evenbreak, surveyed over 300 disabled jobseekers with a variety of physical and non-visible disabilities and long-term conditions. Almost 47% of …

Kick start your start-up with Geovation – £20,000 worth of funding, expert technical help and transformational business for innovative and outstanding start-up ideas that recognise the value of location
The Geovation Programme offers a unique opportunity for developers, innovators and entrepreneurs with bright ideas to be guided through an innovation process that focuses on developing the idea through product creation and commercial realisation, all the while being paid a wage of up to £20,000. The altruistic programme, which runs out of Ordnance Survey’s recently opened Geovation Hub, is believed to be the …

With self-employment in the UK at its highest level since records began, new research from Ipswich Building Society shows that

over three quarters (77%) of self-employed/freelance workers are concerned about not being able to shop around to arrange a mortgage
76% are worried about not being able to get a competitive mortgage
nearly two thirds (63%) believe that mortgage providers expect them to jump through more hoops than employed people during the application process for a new loan
four in ten of those who have (or intend to have) a mortgage in the future are worried …

Most parents will have asked themselves this question at some point. The first few years in our child’s life can have a huge influence on how their later life will pan out. Although, of course, there are no guarantees as to what career path your child will take when they get older because as with almost everything in life, this choice is a matter of nature and nurture. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t support your little one in his or her learning endeavours.
Educational toys such as colouring books …